February 5, 2008
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John MacArthur blew my mind today!
The immutable, sovereign, faithful, omnipotent Lord of heaven whose Word can't return void but always accomplishes what He says, whose purpose always comes to pass, whose will is always fulfilled ultimately, whose plan is invincible and unshakable has spoken about building the church in no less than extremely triumphant words. (Matthew 16:18 He said, "I will build My church and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.")
Paul begins Titus 1, "Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ," and he identifies himself in those two ways. First of all, he is God's slave given the duty of being a messenger for Christ. With regard to that he says this, "For the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, in the hope of eternal life which God who cannot lie promised before time began."
Paul, as a servant of God and a messenger of Jesus Christ, was set really to accomplish three things. His ministry focused on justification, sanctification and glorification. He preached that word of the gospel which mixed with faith produces justification. He preached that word of truth which mixed with obedience produced sanctification. He preached that great hope of eternal life and glory which mixed with hope produces consolation. That is the great unfolding comprehensive redemptive purpose of God. Before time began, God promised and determined to begin and to finish His redemptive plan. People were chosen. Their names were written down that they might be brought to faith, to godliness and to glory.
Now the question that struck me as I read that is to whom did God make the promise? 2 Timothy 1:9, "God who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus, before time began." This whole promise, this whole pledge, this whole covenant, this whole purpose of redemption, salvation, holy calling, this whole gracious saving enterprize was granted by the Father to the Son before time began.
Now what that tells us is this, that the promise that the Father made, the promise that God made, He made to the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a staggering reality, absolutely staggering. In the trinity, in the mystery of the trinity there is an ineffable love, an indescribable and inexplicable love that those members of the trinity share. Jesus alludes to it in His high priestly prayer when He asks the Father to love His own the way He loves Him and asks that they might share in the mutual love between the Son and the Father.
The Father, in a demonstration of this indescribable, supernatural, perfect love expressed to the Son a desire to manifest that love in a very unique way. This is certainly where you have the origination of what Hebrews 13:20 calls "the eternal covenant," for the Father makes a pledge to the Son because of His love for Him. He promises to the Son that He will give to Him a redeemed humanity, justified, sanctified and glorified. That in fact He will bring that humanity to glory, to dwell in the very place where they dwell before time began, a timeless place, an uncreated place...the very realm of God. The Father loves the Son so greatly He wants to grant this redeemed humanity to Him as an expression of His love.
In John 6 and this becomes even more profound. Jesus says, "All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me." Beloved, there in that one statement is the invincibility of the church. All that the Father gives to Me will come to Me. Every individual ever redeemed, ever...every individual ever granted the gift of faith, every individual ever forgiven and justified before God by grace is a gift from the Father to the Son, everyone. It isn't that you were bouncing down the street one day and got smart enough to get yourself saved. It isn't that you considered all your options and picked the best one by your human ingenuity. Rather every individual whoever comes to faith is a love gift from the Father to the Son, a part of a redeemed humanity who is given to the Son for a very expressed purpose. And what is that purpose? Look at what the glorified saints are doing in heaven in the book of Revelation. They are worshiping, glorifying, and praising and serving the Lamb. And that is the fullness of God's purpose.
In John 6:37 Jesus says, "All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me and obviously the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out." Is He going to turn down a love gift from the Father? No. In verse 38 He says, "I have come down from heaven not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me." Now in this covenant the Son had a part to play. The Father said, "I want to give You this redeemed humanity as an expression of My love and I'll bring them all the way to perfection, all the way to glory and they'll spend forever and ever and ever and ever glorifying and praising Your name. There's just one thing I need You to do and that is to go into the world, become one of them, pay the penalty for their sins." And when Jesus says in verse 38, "I've come down from heaven not to do My own will but the will of Him who sent Me," He does not mean that He's against this, that it's not His will, He's unwillingly or reluctantly submitting. All He means is, "I'm coming to fulfill a plan that the Father has devised."
Down to verse 44, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him. And I'll raise him up on the last day." Every individual who has ever come to faith is a love gift from the Father to the Son. We're caught up in something so monumental, so vast, so transcendent, it is almost as if my salvation and your salvation is somewhat incidental, that the real issue here is not to get us to heaven, but to express love from the Father to the Son. We're just the gift.
Now the Father isn't done with just that. Look at Romans 8:29-30. It is said that the supreme form of flattery is imitation. "For whom He foreknew he also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son." The Father determined before time began in His foreknowledge and predestination that He would bring together a redeemed humanity. And there's one more component, they would be made like the Son. The apostle Paul said, "I press toward the mark for the prize of the upward call." What is the prize of the upward call? Christ's likeness. If that's the purpose for which God redeemed me, to make me into the image of His Son, then that should be my goal right now.
Turn to 1 Corinthians 15. "Then comes the end, when He delivers up the Kingdom to the God and Father." In the end the Lord is going to say...Okay, I raised them all up, I provided salvation, I provided the Spirit for sanctification, and I raised them all up, here they are, Father, I give them to You. He's going to deliver them all to the Father. And the Father is going to at that point give them to the Son as a love gift. They're Yours. They're going to praise You forever and ever.
Go to verse 27. "He has put all things in subjection under His feet." When He says "all things are put in subjection," it is evident that He has accepted who put all things in subjection to Him, that is God's not going to be in subjection to Christ, and when all things are subjected to Christ then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him that God may be all in all. When the Son brings the whole redeemed humanity to glory and the Father gives them all to the Son as a love gift, the Son will turn around and give it all, including Himself, back to the Father. This is a mind-boggling thing. This is what we're all caught up in, folks...an immense, transcendent, incomprehensible expression of love within the trinity of which we are the gifts exchanged.
